Tropical storm leaves 9 dead

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-28  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

TORRENTIAL rain from tropical storm Fengshen has killed nine in south China's Guangdong Province, said local authorities yesterday.

The strong rain has affected about 340,000 people, destroyed more than 1,200 houses and inundated 640,000 hectares of crops, a provincial flood control headquarters spokesman said.

It has also damaged roads, power lines, reservoirs and embankments. The total direct economic loss was estimated at about 1.2 billion yuan (US$175 million), the spokesman said.

Fengshen, which means "God of Wind," has brought downpours and swollen rivers to most parts of Guangdong after landing at Shenzhen City early on Wednesday.

The provincial flood control headquarters has warned about geological disasters and dispatched disaster relief teams to hard-hit areas.

Fengshen moved northward into neighboring Jiangxi Province on Thursday and was downgraded to a tropical low pressure storm. Prior to its landfall, landslides triggered by a heavy downpour killed a villager in Jiangxi Province's Yongfeng County.